


For the Love of Lup

by scarecrowstories



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 13:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18874555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarecrowstories/pseuds/scarecrowstories
Summary: When Lup finally gets her body back, the first thing she does is kiss her husband. Taako throws a party to celebrate her new corporeal form. Lup struggles with the overwhelming sensations of being physical again.





	For the Love of Lup

**Author's Note:**

> I broke my dang combo but I hope a longer fic makes up for that? I want to write more explicit Blupjeans at one point but here's some fluff for now. Enjoy!!

The first thing Lup did after she entered her new body was kiss Barry. She was still dripping the brackish green fluid from the pod she had climbed out of, but she refused to wait any longer than necessary. It had been far too long, she thought, smiling against his lips as she held him close. She could feel his heartbeat, and her own skipped a beat at the way he looked at her. His eyes were filled with tears, his cheeks a faint red blush, and suddenly he was laughing joyously. Lup laughed, too, leaning in to kiss him again and again. How could she have forgotten how wonderful it was to feel his warmth?

The second thing she did was hug Taako, who cleared his throat expectantly as he eyed the happy couple. Still laughing, Lup rushed over and threw her arms around him without a care for how damp she still was. Taako couldn't stop running his fingers through her hair, the same color and texture as his own. They held each other and cried until Barry tapped Lup on the shoulder, sheepishly handing her a towel and some clothing. Once dried and dressed, she took both of their hands in her own and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"It's okay now," she said. Both Barry and Taako hugged her again, the three of them a tangled mess of arms as they cherished the corporeal return of their favorite woman. 

"I bet you're hungry," Taako said, poking her stomach. "How's about we have a celebration for you tonight with all your favorite foods? Well, okay, not all because some of them don't exist here, but like, I'll do what I can."

Wiping tears from her eyes, Lup nodded. "That sounds perfect. But I want you both to understand that I'm probably going to need a little bit of space, just while I get used to having a physical form again. It's a bit weird after being a ghost for so damn long."

Barry put his other hand on her back. "Lup, we love you. If you're overwhelmed, we want you to tell us so we can back off. I think I speak for all of our friends when I say that none of us wants you to suffer just to make up for lost time. Right, Taako?"

"For sure, my dude. I'll give you two lovebirds some alone time while I round everyone up, and we can party later. Come by around dinner?" Taako smirked at Lup, knowing exactly what was on her mind. She knew, too, and simply nodded, refusing to acknowledge what her brother was implying. "Great! Don't have too much fun," he said with a wink, quickly walking out of the room.

The rest of their friends were waiting in the hallway, not having wanted to intrude on the moment. "How'd it go?" Lucretia asked.

Taako shrugged. "Y'know, it was pretty much what we expected. Lich-Lup climbed in, Elf-Lup climbed out. She kissed Barold, hugged me, cried." He gestured to his own clothing. "And as you can see she got that nasty stuff all over yours truly, so excuse me."

Before Taako could walk past them all, Magnus put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "C'mon, tell us, were you happy to see her?" His playfully loving tone suggested he wanted Taako to stay and chat, but the elf had other plans.

"What kinda question is that? Of fuckin' course, but this stuff stinks like shit and I'm supposed to cook a lot of fancy food for her tonight, so Taako needs a bath." Taako tried to hide his tears; he was unsuccessful, but his friends pretended not to notice them. They understood that he didn't like appearing vulnerable.

Meanwhile, back in the other room Barry and Lup sat on the floor in a silent embrace for several minutes. Once it sounded like their friends had cleared out of the hallway, they leaned back from one another. Barry picked up the towel and tossed it over Lup's hair, smiling when she snatched it before it landed. 

Lup squeezed the liquid out of her hair as best she could with a grimace. "I know you can't wait to get a piece of this but I'm sure you've noticed by now that I smell pretty awful."

"I don't care, I want to hold you and never let go again," Barry said, placing his hands on her knees. "Let's go get you cleaned up and then maybe we'll see how you feel. I know it's disorienting so I'm not in any rush but--"

"Oh, I am, though." Lup leaned forward to kiss him again, cutting him off. "I missed you so much," she breathed, gently touching their foreheads together. "But you're right. I need a bath. And you should probably change your clothes."

The two made their way to the quarters in the Bureau that they'd been staying in since they defeated the Hunger. They planned on moving out after Lup got her body back, always some distant future endeavor that was now about to be a present consideration. As soon as their door closed behind them, Lup pushed Barry up against the wall to kiss him again. Breathless, she trailed her lips over his neck, across his cheeks, and made sure to whisper promises of more as she passed his ear.

Lup cleared her throat and stepped back. "All right, I'll stop getting this gross stink-water on you now. Since I don't remember what falling asleep feels like anymore you're probably gonna have to check on me in like half an hour. Is that cool?"

Pushing up his glasses, Barry nodded, back still against the wall and face still bright red. "No prob. You go relax. I'll be in the bedroom." And with that, Barry hurried across the living room and shut himself into the bedroom. He laid down on the bed and buried his face in his hands, letting his tears flow freely. She was back! He could feel her warmth, hear her breath, kiss her! 

Their victory over the Hunger had felt monumental, but nothing could compare to the soaring in his soul at feeling Lup's body pressed against his own once more. In that moment he could truly appreciate the weight of their victory and her body. Every moment of pain and doubt faded to the back of his mind as he excitedly recalled just minutes before how it had felt to kiss the love of his life.

While Barry was preoccupied, Lup drew water for her bath. She quickly removed her damp clothes and climbed in as soon as the tub was full, sighing as she sunk into the water. She focused on the heat spreading through her limbs, the way the steam rising from the water felt on her face, and the sweet smell of the shampoo she was rubbing into her hair. 

Within minutes, she could tell that she was going to fall asleep in the bath. She tried not to panic as she felt herself slipping, the sensation a little too close to her early years trapped in the umbra staff. As her worries melted away, she laid her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Barry would check on her.

Sure enough, some time later he entered the bathroom and gently shook her awake. "Lup, you ready to get out?" he asked, rocking her shoulder lightly. "It's not gonna stay hot forever, and you don't want your first bath back to be ruined by waking up to it cold."

She stirred and stretched her arms over her head with a yawn. "Oh man, that was one hell of a nap." He helped her to her feet and kissed her forehead as she wrapped the towel around herself. "Can we just lay in the bed for a little while?" Lup put her arms around Barry's waist. "I just need to hold you."

"Of course," he murmured. He took Lup by the hand and led her to their bed, only for her to leap onto it and tug him down onto herself. Barry chuckled nervously, cheeks burning, as his knees landed on either side of her hips. "Whoa, what happened to just holding?"

Lup grinned and pulled him down so that he was laying fully on top of her. "That's all I'm planning on right now," she assured, wrapping her arms around him tighter. "I missed feeling the weight of, well, everything, but especially you."

Tearing up again, Barry sunk into the embrace and let himself lay on Lup like a blanket. He turned to kiss the side of her head and moved a hand to stroke her hair. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It's so different. Don't get me wrong, I've been happy to have ghost-you around after so long, but this is better." 

They lay holding one another like that for a few minutes, until Barry flopped off of Lup with a sigh. "Okay, my turn to hold you," he announced, rolling onto his side and pulling her against his chest. He buried his face in her hair and breathed. How many years since his soul had felt so at home? "You doing okay?"

Lup froze for a moment, hesitant to answer. "I guess. I don't think we can do this for much longer today if everyone at the party is going to want to hug me, though." She sighed and lifted the back of Barry's hand to her lips in a gentle kiss. "I don't want it to seem like I'm not interested in sex, because I absolutely am, but…" A shaky sigh. "I could barely remember your voice. Ten years of just absolute isolation. I had no way of knowing what Lucretia had done, so when I finally heard Taako…"

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, I understand," Barry said, hugging her tighter. "You kept me grounded that whole time we were apart. I never stopped looking, not for a second, even when I had no idea who or what I was looking for. And any time I died and remembered it all as a lich, it was unbearable. But let's save that talk for another day and try to just enjoy tonight, okay?"

"Yeah. We have plenty of time for that later." Lup sat up, looking down at her love. "It's just all so much. I'm almost glad these last few months I've had time to get acclimated to colors and sounds again." She crossed her arms, gaze cast towards the bedroom door. "Everything is so bright and loud all the time. I forgot what it felt like. And now I have to add touch and smell and taste?" A hollow laugh. "Barry, did everything always smell so weird?"

Barry sat up too, placing a hand on her shoulder. He was probably the only other person she could speak to about these things; none of their other friends knew what it felt like to live the way they did. Only by having the stark contrast of their lich forms could they both have such an acute awareness of their senses. But neither of them was ever in that form for more than a year before. "Probably. Love, I want tonight to be fun for you. I want this to be a celebration of all the wonderful things you've been missing. If we have to do it in stages, well, that's okay. I love you."

She took a deep breath before throwing her arms around Barry's waist and burying her face in his chest, sobbing. Barry stroked her hair gently and murmured words of comfort as she let herself go, finally able to cry after more than a decade. When she finally calmed down, she pulled away from him entirely and stood up. "I'm sorry, I think that's going to keep happening." She opened the dresser and pulled out clothing they'd selected in preparation for her return. "I don't want to seem overly sensitive so bear with me. Please."

As she said that, she was running her thumbs across the fabric. Soft cotton. Brass buttons. Raised stitches. A pocket. Every detail felt huge, she thought as she got dressed in silence. Once clothed, she turned back to Barry and tried to smile as confidently as she could. "I bet I look fucking good, huh?"

He blushed and adjusted his glasses to keep his hands busy. "Gods, yeah. Can I kiss you again?" he asked, standing and approaching her slowly.

"Please," she whispered, closing the distance between them and bringing her lips to his. His shaky breath on her lips made her heart pound in her chest and she distantly wondered if it was audible. She ran her hands down his back, drinking in his presence. A small sound caught at the back of her throat as they continued kissing, her eyes sliding shut to focus on this one feeling. Hearing a quiet moan from Barry made her face hotter than she thought possible as arousal overwhelmed her. She pulled back.

Looking more than a little dazed, Barry grinned. "Worth the wait," he said, clearing his throat. "There's still some time before Taako wants us to come by."

Lup smiled, eyes sad and distant. "Yeah. Can we just sit in the living room and relax?"

"Of course," he said, taking her by the hand. "Today's for you, babe."

When they decided to finally head over to the party, Lup was visibly nervous, but she brushed off Barry's concerns. The moment the door opened to reveal her brother, Lup threw her arms around him and cried again. Before Barry could react, Kravitz appeared and ushered him inside, closing the door behind them. Barry walked past the twins, following the reaper to the couch to give them some space. 

He glanced over periodically for the next few minutes while they stood there embracing, and he thought about how many times this exact scene had played out on their journey. How many times one of them died, and how their reunion was always this intense. Things were different now. 

"He's been so excited about this day for weeks," Kravitz commented, pulling Barry's attention away from the twins.

"I bet. Lup has, too," he said, smiling softly. "Look, I know our circumstances are weird and you're having to cash in some favors to get us the gig, but I hope you know we're both really grateful."

"Of course." Kravitz glanced back at the twins, expression alight with love. "Taako is lucky to have you two. Even if we couldn't make an exception for the liches who saved the world, I don't know if I could take his family away from him again."

The twins approached, putting their conversation on hold. "I'm gonna help Taako in the kitchen," Lup announced, grinning ear to ear. "We need some twin time until the others show up. Stay out of trouble," she said with a wink, leaning down to place a kiss on top of Barry's head; she giggled when she saw him blushing faintly.

Kravitz and Barry both stared after their respective partners like lovesick fools. Kravitz cleared his throat. "It's amazing how identical they are."

"I know, right? It doesn't help they share most of their clothes. But I think it really bugs them when folks confuse them, y'know?" Barry looked down at his hands in his lap, remembering the early days of the Starblaster when the twins teased the rest of them any time they got mixed up.

"That makes sense. They're individuals. Nobody wants to be treated like a collective." Kravitz looked like he wanted to say more but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Ah, excuse me."

As the rest of their friends showed up one by one, Barry kept an eye on Lup. She enthusiastically embraced them as they greeted her, keeping her hands clasped in theirs or on their shoulder while they talked before going back to helping Taako in the kitchen. Once everyone had arrived and there was no need to stand over the stove, Lup joined Barry back in the living room. Her eyes were tired, but her smile was bright.

"You holding up okay, babe?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "Yeah, so far. I'll let you know when I'm at my limit."

The entire evening was spent laughing, smiling, and enjoying each other's company. Lup cried when she tasted her favorite dishes for the first time in so long, only taking a few bites of everything being offered. "I don't want to get sick," she'd said, "But I absolutely have to try it all!" The first sip of wine she took was unceremoniously spit back out. "Wow, did alcohol always taste like shit?" she joked.

After a few hours, just as they'd come one by one, so too they left. Their departures were less affectionate, as it was obvious to all of them how thoroughly exhausted Lup was by it all. Lup helped Taako clean up despite his protests that it was her special day, leaving Barry and Kravitz alone in the living room once more.

"I've never seen him so happy," Kravitz said with an exhausted smile.

Barry let out a short laugh. "She has that effect on people."

When they returned to their own quarters for the night, Lup dragged Barry through the door by the hand and was once again kissing him with fervor. It held the years of missed passion, the tenderness of a century's worth of love. "I don't think I have it in me tonight but gods, Barry, I want you," she whispered.

He ran his fingers through her hair, breathing shallow. "I understand. I'll never stop wanting you. We don't have to rush," he promised. Barry pulled her to his chest and nuzzled his face into her vibrant curls. "This is worth more than the entire planar system."

Letting herself be cradled in his arms, Lup let out a contented hum. "Dork."

"Your dork," he corrected.

"My dork." They stood quietly for a few minutes. 

"Bedroom?" Barry asked, trying not to sound too eager. When Lup nodded, he swept her off her feet and carried her across the room like a bride despite her giggling protests. He laid her on the bed, leaning over her to kiss everywhere he could reach.

Lup guided his face to hers for a final heated kiss before insisting that it was time for pajamas and sleep. "Maybe in the morning," she said, snuggling into his side under the covers. "If I recall, morning sex is a hell of a way to start your day." Her teasing smile lit a fire in his stomach. "I hope it's worth the wait." Though her tone was light, there was an underlying fear that Barry detected.

"Always," he insisted. "And if you change your mind, that's okay. You're here now," he emphasized with a tight hug.

Falling asleep in Barry's arms was effortless, her racing thoughts finally slowing as she focused on the sensations she was experiencing: Barry snoring lightly, each puff of breath tickling the hairs on the back of her neck; the occasional twitch of his feet bumping into her calves; the happy hum as he cuddled closer, arms squeezing around her waist for just a moment. 

There was nothing she missed in the umbrella more than the love that was now grounding her. It bothered her that she wasn't ready to be more physical with her husband yet, but if there had been anything her isolation had taught her, it was patience. She could wait a little longer.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been struggling with how to end this fic for a dang week so I hope that this doesn't feel Weird...


End file.
